Odisu, J Pol Sci Pub Aff 2015 , 3:3

Political Science & Public

Research Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2332-0761.1000185

Affairs

Open Access

Federalism in Nigeria: A Critique

Odisu TA*
School of Marine Technology, Burutu, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract
The paper looks at federalism as a political system and how it is being practised in Nigeria. Using the descriptive
method of data gathering, the paper reveals that there are contradictions in its practice in Nigeria. What obtains here is
a disguised unitary system. There are many differences between the US and Nigeria in the practice of federalism. It is
recommended that since some states are not economically viable, full autonomy be granted to the six regions as
federating units as
well as derecognizing local governments in the tax to the centre or the federal government. This makes the states to
constitution.

Keywords: Federalism; Autonomy; Constituent units; be inferior and subservient to the centre. Many activists have been

Resource control

Introduction
There was nothing like Nigeria before the advent of imperialism.
What we had were several independent nations with different cultures,
languages etc. They were the Urhobo, the Ijaw, the Hausa, the Fulani,
the Nupe, the Kanuri, the Itsekiri, the Ogoja, the Opobo, the Tiv, the
Calabari, etc. It was the colonial masters that brought these nations
together to form what is today known as Nigeria. Federalism was
practised by the nationalists who took over the reins of power from
the imperialists till the military intervention in politics. The federating
units then were the regions which shared governmental powers with
the central or federal government and paid tax to the centre from the
revenue generated from their resources. Federalism, according to
Wheare, is the division of government functions between the center
and the constituent units such that each unit can develop at its own
pace [1]. Neither the center nor the constituent units are subordinate to
each other; the two are coordinate and independent. No hierarchy of
authorities. Federalism fosters unity in diversity. It symbolizes
decentralization of power and operates within the prism of self-respect
for one another. The major goal of federalism is to thwart the threat to
individually independent but militarily weak states or federating units
as well as guaranteeing their collective security. As a framework for
the co-exstistence of unity in diversity, it realizes the differences of
ethnicity, economy, religion, language and other factors but strives to
build unity out of the differences.
Nigeria is a country of many mutually distrustful nations, as is
evident from the clashes it has experienced since 1999. As observed
by Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere
geographical expression [2]. There are no Nigerians in the same sense
as there are English, Welsh or French. Nigeria operates federalism
only on paper, the federal structures have never existed in Nigeria
society. There is obviously a need for the Nigeria nationalities to
enjoy separate and autonomous existence as states, while uniting with
each other through a central government exercising some basic power
and running some common services such as defence, foreign affairs,
monetary issues, telecommunication, immigration, customs and
excise, etc., which are in the exclusive List. Sadly, the Nigerian
experience in terms of how federalism is operated, is a radical
departure from the theory of federalism as idealized by Wheare. Some
factors are responsible for this.

Revenue Generation and Allocation

In Nigeria today, the resources of the country belongs to the
central government. Oil is the major source of revenue and whatever
is generated is kept in the federation account and is shared monthly
among the three tiers of government: the federal, state and local
government. This is a misnomer. Federating units are supposed to tap
their resources to generate revenue and pay an agreed percentage as

agitating for true federalism to enable the states control their

resources. As observed by Professor Ohwona, there is nothing like
true federalism. Either it is Federalism or Unitary. Concentrating the
wealth of the country at the centre is an outstanding feature of a
Unitary Government. Why is it that some sections of Nigeria are
agitating for fiscal federalism in a country that claims to be a
federation? The principles of federalism should affect everything. In
the US, the federating units manage their resources and pay tax to the
central government. There has never been such agitation. Under the
regional government in the first republic, Nigeria made remarkable
progress with the three and later four regions using the resources at
their disposal to make life meaningful for their citizens [3].

Centralised police force

In Nigeria, the police high command is centralized and is headed by
an Inspector General of Police appointed by the federal government.
The various state police commissioners take orders from the IG at the
centre. The state governors who are flattered with the title of chief
security officer in their states have no control over the police
commissioners in their states. When the governors give instruction to
the police commissioners in crisis situations, they normally consult with
their boss, the IG, before taking action, leading to escalation of the
crisis. This is a negation to federalism. There should be federal and state
police. This is the practice in the US. The fight against terrorism and
other crimes is difficult because there is no state police. How can an
Orogun man who is a police officer from Delta State in the South-South
region fight crime successfully in an unfamiliar area in Borno State in
North-East region of Nigeria? Does he know the terrain? Posting police
officers to strange terrain to work is deadly. State Police makes

*Corresponding author: Odisu TA, School of Marine Technology, Burutu, Delta

State, Nigeria, Tel No: 08030720991; E-mail: terryodisu@hotmail.com
Received October 28, 2015; Accepted November 27, 2015; Published December
07, 2015
Citation: Odisu TA (2015) Federalism in Nigeria: A Critique. J Pol Sci Pub Aff 3:
185. doi:10.4172/2332-0761.1000185

Copyright: 2015 Odisu TA. This is an open-access article distributed under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use,
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
source are credited.

Citation: Odisu TA (2015) Federalism in Nigeria: A Critique. J Pol Sci Pub Aff
3: 185. doi:10.4172/2332-0761.1000185

J Pol Sci Pub Aff

crime fighting easier as the operatives know the terrain, the people and
J Pol Sci Pub Aff
ISSN: 2332-0761 JPSPA, an open access journal
Vo u e 3 Issue 3 1000185
Citation:
Odisu
TA
(2015)
Federalism
in Nigeria: A Critique. J
Pol

understand the language. There has been strident call for the creation of ISSN: 2332-0761 JPSPA, an open access journal
state police in Nigeria. The increasing agitation for the decentralization
of the Police Force can no longer be viewed as a partisan crusade, as
many state governors and other prominent politicians across different
political parties are in support of state police [4]. The centralization of
the police at the centre is also a beautiful feature of a unitary
government.

Sci Pub Aff 3: 185.

doi:10.4172/23320761.100
0185

Management of local government councils

In Nigeria, local governments get monthly allocation from the centre
via the states. In a federation, local councils are the babies of the states,
created for administrative convenience. They are not supposed to be
used as basis for revenue sharing. A state governor is supposed to have
the power to create more local councils or merge some together with the
approval of the state legislature. They are to be funded and controlled by
the state government. In Nigeria, local councils are created by both the
federal government and the states. Former Lagos State Governor,
Senator Bola Tinubu had a running battle with the federal government
over the local councils created by Lagos State Government. The
councils were not recognized and funds meant for councils in the state
were not released until the Supreme Court delivered a judgement on the
issue [5]. In the US, a governor can, with the approval of state
lawmakers, create or merge two or more councils together if found to be
economically unviable. The federal government should not have a role
in the creation of local councils and they need not be listed in the
constitution. The agitation for local council autonomy is a stupid joke.
Hence the state lawmakers were strongly advised to vote against it
during the contstitution amendment by a foremost constitutional lawyer,
Professor Itse Sagay [6]. He noted that the recognition of local
government as the third tier was not ideal and that it was wrong that
local governments were given powers and functions directly in the 1999
Constitution, unlike in the advanced federations like the US where local
governments were only mentioned in State Constitutions. The erudite
lawyer stressed that local governments in a federation are creations of
the State and therefore ought not to enjoy powers in the same measures
that the constitution grants to the federating units. Nigeria federal
system is contrary to the principle of federalism which recognizes only
two levels of government. Autonomy for local governments would
cause problems of governance for state governors.

Admission into tertiary schools

Page 2 of 2

Conclusion and Recommendation

An attempt has been made to X-ray the practice of federalism in
Nigeria. Even though Nigeria claims to be a federation, it operates
federalism only on paper. Federal structures never existed in Nigeria.
Nigeria is actually practising unitary government. This is buttressed by
the following factors: The federating units have no control over the
resources in their territory, the federating units have no absolute control
over the local governments-they cant create more or merge some
together as it is done in the US, there is no state police, the central
government reserves the power to determine the cut off marks for
admission into federal and state-owned tertiary institutions. All these
negate the principles of federalism. It is recommended that:

The 36 states be collapsed into six regions and full autonomy

granted to them

State police be created to fight crimes in the states

Six premiers be elected to oversee the activities of the state

governors

State ministries of education to fix marks for admission into

tertiary schools owned by them

Each state to determine the minimum wage it can pay

All resources found in the states to be explored and managed by

them and are expected to pay an agreed percentage as tax to the
centre. This will make the centre to be unattractive and
presidential election will no longer be a do or die affair

Local governments to be derecognised by the constitution for

them to remain the creations of the states. This will stop them
from carrying on as third tier of government

The federal government, through its agency, Joint Admission and References
Matriculation Board (JAMB) fixes cut off marks for admission into both 1. Wheare KC (1946) Federal Government. Oxford University Press, London.
federal and state tertiary institutions. The federal government has no 2. Awolowo O (1947) Part to Freedom, Faber & Faber.
business in determining the marks for admission into state owned
I (2014) Nigeria: 1914-2014; Almagamation and its Aftermath. Nation
schools. This should be the responsibility of the state ministries of 3. Sagay
Newspapers.
education. Why fixing admission marks without fixing the school fees
in state owned schools? This is clearly antithetical to the principle of 4. Agitation for State Police (2012) Punch Newspapers.
federalism. If the staff of federal universities are on strike as a result of 5. Withheld Lagos State Local Councils Funds (2014). Nigeria Muse Newspapers
unpaid salaries, why should the staff of state universities that are not
being owed join the strike? The same thing affects the health workers. 6. Sagay I (2015) Dont support Local Government Authority. Sun Newspapers.
Federating units are supposed to develop at their own pace, but as it is 7. Ohwona A (2007) Nothing like true federalism, Classroom Discussion: Issues in
Nigeria Government and Politics. Delta University, Abraka.
now, an innovation by state governors in certain sectors may trigger a
nation-wide strike action because we are not really practising federalism
[7].

OMICS International: Publication Benefits & Features

Unique features:

Increased global visibility of articles through worldwide distribution and indexing

Showcasing recent research output in a timely and updated manner
the current trends of scientific research Special features:

700 Open Access Journals

Special issues on

50 ,000 editorial team

Rapid review process
Quality and quick editorial, review and publication processing
Indexing at PubMed (partial), Scopus, EBSCO, Index Copernicus and Google Scholar etc
Sharing Option: Social Networking Enabled
Authors, Reviewers and Editors rewarded with online Scientific Credits
Better discount for
your subsequent articles
Submit your manuscript at: http://www.omicsonline.org/submission

Vo u e 3 Issue 3, 1000185